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Ecology

New Research

Eating Toxic Algae Might Make Some Plankton Act Drunk

Though it may seem funny, it could have serious environmental consequences

Severe drought killed this stand of trembling aspen trees, Populus tremuloides, near Fairplay, Colorado.

What Does a Dying Forest Sound Like?

As temperatures rise, scientists scramble to pinpoint trees in danger of drought

New Research

Scientists Catalog Creatures in Every Corner of Los Angeles

In a huge citizen science project, scientists are turning to an urban environment to seek out biodiversity

New Research

Watch a Massive Swarm of Crabs Scuttling Along The Ocean Floor

Marine biologists say this behavior has never been seen before

New Research

Can Great Apes Be Vaccinated Against Ebola and Other Diseases?

Vaccinations could be the best defense against devastating population drops

New Research

After Decades of Decline, Tiger Populations Could Be on the Rise

Though the latest numbers seem hopeful, the majestic creatures are not out of the woods yet

Each year, thousands of California sea lions flock to the docks at Oregon's Port of Astoria.

Cool Finds

An Oregon Port Is Using Inflatable Air Dancers to Scare Off Pesky Sea Lions

The car dealership staple is now a marine mammal scarecrow

Trending Today

SeaWorld Is Shutting Down Its Orca Breeding Program

But the orcas currently living in its parks will remain there for the rest of their lives

The highly regular spacing of fairy circles in Australia becomes visible in dense vegetation. The grasses in the foreground of the image are patchy as they rebounding from fire.

New Research

Mysterious Fairy Circles Have Been Found in Western Australia

Once thought to exist only in Namibia, circles spotted 6,200 miles away are helping sort out how these odd features form

Trending Today

The Marine Corps Plans to Airlift Over 1,000 Desert Tortoises

Despite the positive intentions behind relocation, conservationists worry that it will hurt the tortoises more than it helps

New Research

Wading Birds ‘Pay’ Alligators for Their Protection

It’s a give-and-take relationship: alligators may chow down on a few chicks, but they keep predators at bay

New Research

Shockingly, Pandas That Like Each Other Have More Babies Together

The deceptively simple discovery could revolutionize panda breeding

A cheetah stalks past a herd of giraffes in Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve.

Age of Humans

Humans Caused a Major Shift in Earth’s Ecosystems 6,000 Years Ago

We upended a pattern held for 300 million years, and that may mean we are causing a new phase in global evolution

Cool Finds

The Last Wild Horses Are Rebounding From Extinction

After years of breeding programs, the last truly wild horses return

Cool Finds

This Scientist Live-Tweets Cheetah Hunts

Documenting nature in all its beauty, viciousness, hilarity and boredom

Setting up sound monitors in Papua New Guinea.

Scientists Are Recording 24-Hour Soundtracks of Rainforests

The bioacoustic data gives Nature Conservancy researchers clues about the health of an ecosystem

A competitor named Rich Welsh midway through his challenge at this year's World Bog Snorkeling Championships in Wales.

Swimming Through Mud at the World Bog Snorkeling Championships

This year marks the 30th anniversary of one of the world’s strangest (and messiest) competitions

A mother hummingbird in Arizona incubates her eggs under the indirect protection of her neighborhood hawk.

New Research

Hawks Act as Unwitting Muscle for Hummingbirds

In Arizona, hummingbirds seem to deliberately seek out bodyguard hawks to shield them from nest-robbing jays

Ten years on, some of the scars that Katrina tore into coastal ecosystems persist, while others have healed. NASA's Landsat 8 satellite captured this image of the swamps and marshes that buffer New Orleans in August 2015.

Age of Humans

How Hurricane Katrina Redrew the Gulf Coast

While storms here are nothing new, human influence helped Katrina make Louisiana’s ecological problems worse

New Research

Over 14,000 Miles of America’s Coastline is Covered in Concrete

14 percent of America’s coastline is coated in concrete — and that could actually be really bad

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